Burner as the Biden Administration and Senate Democrats push forward on a cody relief bill that some lawmakers and even leftleaning economists say could actually hurt the economy in the long run. President biden saying today its an easy choice, pointing to the latest jobs numbers as proof there is no time to waste. This as he met with 10 republican senators earlier this week who proposed a Counter Offer to his nearly 2 trillion plan. White house correspondent Kristin Fisher has been following it all. She joins us live from the north lawn from the white house with the latest. Good evening, kristin. Good evening, bret. The week started with President Biden meeting with republican senators and hoping to cut a deal. But it is ending with the president giving his strongest signal yet that he intends to move forward with his relief plan without republican support. Im going to act. Im going to act fast. In his most fiery defense of his 1. 9 trilliondollar relief plan, President Biden made it
new numbers on the unprecedented number of migrants along the u.s./mexico border. i ll talk to an official from one border city about what s going on and what they need. and new audio into outfront of putin s forces turning on each other as there are reports of a strike on a military base deep inside russia. let s go outfront. good evening. i m sara sidner in for erin burnett. outfront tonight, worst winter storm ever. that s from new york officials describing this christmas weekend blizzard that pummelled areas upstate. and the death toll is rising, at least 27 deaths across the region now being blamed on the storm, surpassing the death toll from a historic blizzard 45 years ago. it was just a horrible situation, the worst storm i ve ever seen. it s the first time any of us can remember situations where we felt truly helpless. the blizzard burying buffalo and other parts of upstate new york under more than 4 feet of snow. and the region still bracing for even m
the country in traffic accidents from freezing to death in the elements or from a range of other causes as a direct result of this storm. multiday snowfall totals have been titanic, up to 43 inches in hard hit buffalo. governor hochul requesting a federal disaster declaration due to the historic winter storm. it is devastating. it is going to a warzone and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking. it is not just small vehicles, it is literally snowplows, it is major size recovery vehicles and utility vehicles and tow trucks. so we have a real challenge right now are we have roads blocked. roads are literally blocked by emergency vehicles so that has made it extremely challenging for us. effect on air travel on a crucial holiday week end was nothing shorts of catastrophic. there were a total of more than 11,000 flights canceled friday, saturday and sunday. this morning so far airlines have canceled another 1300 flights. nationwide more than 60,000 homes and bus
some dying in snow buried cars, others in homes with no power. conditions so bad rescuers needed rescuing. and the travel nightmare continues for thousands of americans, so far more than 3,000 flights have been canceled today, the majority are southwest flights. plus, how a toy and a car led police to find a kidnapped baby. welcome to the lead i m phil mattingly in today for jake tapper. we begin with the rising death toll from the vicious winter weather across the country. at least 49 people across nine states have died from storms, at least 27 of those deaths are centered in buffalo, new york, and surrounding erie county which were hit with a blizzard, winds so fierce they reached hurricane strength, rescuers had to be sent out to help stranded rescue crews facing, quote, some of the worst conditions that any of us have ever seen. many roads around buffalo remain impassable, driving bans still in place in some areas as crews try to clear the streets to restore power
of the state. buffalo and other cities are struggling to dig out of 43 inches of snow and freezing temperatures and power outages. i ll talk with the buffalo police commissioner this hour. many americans are still feeling the effects of the arctic blast, including millions of air travelers. southwest airlines experiencing massive disruptions, with more than 65% of its flights canceled just today, adding to the holiday travel chaos. also tonight, vladimir putin claims he s ready to negotiate a solution to the ukraine war, but a key ukrainian official says the russian president needs to get back to reality, as moscow continues to slaughter innocent civilians. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. we begin this hour with the deadly weather emergency in western new york. governor kathy hochul is calling it, and i m quoting her, the blizzard of the century and she is warning it is far from over.